


Christmas Eve Eve

by gurlsrool



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Meet the Family, this is a cheesy mess sry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 10:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5536349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gurlsrool/pseuds/gurlsrool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ronan and Adam fake date, Blue meets the Ganseys, and Noah just misses his dog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Eve Eve

**Author's Note:**

> tw for strong language (abt the same as in the books) and brief moments of racism, sexism, n homophobia (nothing Big tho). Also, this is rly rly rough and Rly cheesy and a Mess im sry ive been working on it for a month n i wanted 2 get it up by christmas. This is 4 savanna, alison, katie, n genielle ily all merry Christmas kids! Also, I hc Blue as looking at Amandla Stenberg which kind of plays in. Also, no bllb spoilers it takes place at some Undefined time who knows. ok enjoy !!!

_the 20th_

Ronan Lynch’s father taught him how to fight and how to dance. He taught him how to set the world on fire and how to put it out with his fists. He taught him how to listen to music with both ears and chase butterflies and cook spaghetti and break hearts with a split of his teeth. Ronan Lynch’s father taught him how to bleed and how to dream.

Declan Lynch’s education came solely from Aglionby Academy. His mind was raised up by a gray haired calculus teacher who spoke with his mouth half closed and a literature teacher who spat through Shakespeare sonnets. His upbringing clung to him so easily, so visibly, as he leaned outside of Saint Agnes, blocking the sun from his eyes.

“You’re on time,” he remarked as Ronan approached, lazily swinging his car keys around his pointer finger.

“Don’t act so surprised,” Ronan turned his gaze to Matthew, giving him a fist bump before taking his place beside Matthew on the wall. The three of them all lined up looked almost like a portrait. Lynch brothers. Oil on canvas. Immortal.

Matthew cut in before Declan could respond, “I’m so excited for Friday. I don’t know if I should make the sweet potatoes with pecan and brown sugar or the marshmallows. I mean I know you like sweet foods Ronan and the marshmallows are definitely sweeter but the brown sugar is so good you know? Maybe I’ll just make both both would be good right?”

“How many orange potatoes can three people eat?” Ronan smirked, arms folded over his chest.

“Four,” Matthew corrected, “and anyways it’s not just an orange potato it’s totally different-”

“Four?” he turned his gaze to Declan accusingly. “Four?”

Declan waved his hand absentmindedly, like the gesture alone was enough to smooth everything over. “Olive’s parents are out of town for some Christmas cruise so I offered for her to join us-”

“Olive? Who the fuck is Olive? Like the shit you put in martinis?”

“She’s my girlfriend.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Ronan-”

“Declan.” he gritted his teeth, forming fists by his side, “It’s the three of us. It’s always just the three of us you can’t just invite some random girl you’ve been fucking for two days-”

“Ronan, stop it. Please. It’s just a dinner. She has nowhere else to go. All you have to do is be civil,” Declan sighed, rubbing his fingers against his temple more for the show of it than anything. “I’m asking you to be civil.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay. Got room for five Matthew?”

“What?” Declan, who had been glancing at Ronan from the corner of his eye whipped his head in his brother’s direction.

“We’re allowed to bring a plus one now aren’t we? You bring a date, I bring one. Except he’s not named after a fucking garnish.” Ronan set his face carefully as he watched Declan’s reaction. It was a blink and a grimace and a flash of something Ronan couldn’t quite catch.

Declan opened his mouth and closed it again. Matthew clapped his hands together. “Five people! Perfect! Of course I have room Ronan. Now I can definitely make both sweet potato dishes!”

“Good.” Ronan said, as they filed into Saint Agnes. Ronan wondered if it would be futile to ask God or Jesus or the fucking holy ghost to send him a boyfriend by Friday. It certainly hadn’t worked before.

*

_the 22nd_

“Is it like the White House?” Blue asked, her head in Noah’s mostly present lap and her feet in Adam’s. She had developed a habit of tangling herself with all of the boys although Gansey didn’t seem to mind. More likely, he didn’t notice at all. He was too busy getting tangled with them himself. “Are there security guards?”

Gansey sighed and pushed his glasses up on his nose. Blue ignored the unexplained flicker it left in her chest and closed her eyes, focusing instead on the way Noah was twirling his fingers through locks of her hair. 

“No Blue, there aren’t,” he closed his laptop slowly, sliding it into the case.

“Yeah but there are guard dogs,” Ronan joked. Blue noticed the way his eyes immediately flicked to Adam when he said it, gauging his reaction, his Adam’s apple bobbing when he received a loud, low chuckle from the other boy. “Just pomeranians though. Pretty harmless.”

“Aww,” Noah grinned fondly at the thought. “I miss my dog,” he sighed and Blue reached up and carefully aligned her fingers with his, keeping them pressed into her hair. “You know her name was Peanut Butter. She really liked-”

“Yeah, we know,” Ronan rolled his eyes and Blue shot him a glare. “she liked long walks on the beach with Jelly the cat, her best friend after you, and eating fucking sparkles.”

“She was so fluffy,” Noah hummed, ignoring Ronan. “Like a little cloud. Actually, she kind of felt like your hair Blue.”

“You did not just compare me to a dog,” Blue shot back although there was no fire behind it and her hand was still pressed carefully against Noah’s. There was a time when speaking like that would have put them all on edge but they knew her now. They knew when she was genuinely mad and when she was just going through the motions.

“Well-” Ronan began. Adam instinctively clamped a hand over his mouth to stop them from moving into the genuinely mad Blue Sargent territory. Ronan’s cheeks turned a shade of pink Blue saw on his skin more often than he would ever admit and Adam’s did too as he awkwardly dropped his arm back to his side.

They sat in silence for a moment and Blue felt comfortable in it besides the obvious tension between the two boys beside her. “It’s bigger,” Adam spoke suddenly, quietly, “It’s bigger than the White House.”

“It is not!” Gansey admonished him. “Really,” he said to Blue then, “It’s really not.”

“You’re wasting your time lying Dick. She’s just going to hit you for downplaying it when she sees it.” Ronan put his hands behind his head, pretending he had completely forgotten the exchange from a moment ago. Ronan Lynch didn’t lie but he could certainly pretend.

“I will not!”

“Okay.” Gansey considered this, thoughtfully. “It is a large house but I certainly doubt it has the… stature of The White House.”

Adam and Ronan snorted in sync and exchanged an awkward glance.

“Good luck maggot,” Ronan coughed, as Gansey gave Blue a nod and a point to his watch.

She rolled her eyes and swung her feet off of Adam’s lap. 

Adam stood up and nodded at her, whispered “You’ll be fine,” in her ear.

Noah looked at her sadly and went in for a hug. “You know, in another universe you’re meeting my parents Christmas eve eve.”

“Stop calling it that and stop flirting with Gansey’s girlfriend.” Ronan gave him a nudge.

“She’s not-” Gansey interjected. 

Blue ignored them both. “In that universe I promise I’d give Peanut Butter lots of hugs.”

“Good. Jelly too?”

“Of course.”

*

Ronan always forgot that Noah saw everything. He knew he shouldn’t, since Noah’s such a little shit about it, but he always got so caught up in his thoughts that it slipped his mind. Especially then, when Adam was reading a play for English and pretending not to watch Ronan and Ronan was feeding Chainsaw and pretending not to watch Adam and it’s such a familiar feeling Ronan thinks if someone asked him what home was he would think of The Barns and then think of this.

“So,” Noah appeared between them, a grin on his face. 

“Jesus fuck,” Ronan yelled as Adam jumped. They both startled so easily and pretended they didn’t know why.

“What are your plans for Christmas eve eve? Adam, you go first.”

“You’re an annoying piece of shit you know that right?” Ronan scanned his face and tried to figure out what his plan was. Noah always had a plan. They all did.

“Adam?”

“Noah Christmas eve eve is a holiday you made up,” he responded, closing the book, “I’ve read the shit out of this Shakespeare, Nino’s? Anyone?”

“Anything to get you away from your homework,” Ronan said and meant it. He ignored Noah’s smirk as the two boys followed him out to the car.

“So,” Noah said, as he buckled himself into the backseat of the BMW, as if that was necessary. “Ronan has plans for Christmas eve eve, isn’t that right Ronan?” when he got no response he continued, “He has dinner. With Declan and Matthew. And-”

“I will throw you out the car window Czerny,” Ronan hissed through his teeth and Noah sunk back into his seat. They drove the rest of the way in silence and Ronan found it distracting to have Adam in the front seat. He shook his head as if he could shake out the thoughts. He pretended Adam wasn’t staring and then he pretended that he was and then they stopped at a red light and Ronan watched Adam watch the rain drops race on the window until Noah coughed to tell him it had turned green.

“I’ll go get us a table! You wait here for the rain to die down.” Noah spoke up, when they pulled to a stop in the Nino’s parking lot.

“They can’t even see-” he was gone before Ronan could finish his sentence. “Fucking ghosts man.”

Adam began to laugh in a way that made Ronan’s chest tighten. “Fucking ghosts. What was he on about?” he raised an eyebrow.

Ronan opened his mouth and closed it, opened it, closed it. _Get it together Lynch_. “I told Declan I’m bringing my boyfriend to Christmas dinner on Christmas e- the 23rd. Fucking Noah-”

“Oh.” Adam got suddenly more interested in the drops on the window. “I didn’t realize you were-”

“I’m not. Declan was being a dick.”

“Oh.” Adam swallowed and Ronan watched him. “You’re an idiot,” he said and then, without a pause to breathe, “I get off at seven.”

“What?”

“Work. I get off work at seven. The 23rd. This is you asking me right? To piss Declan off even more with trailer trash.”

“Oh…” Ronan grabbed onto the handle of the door. “Oh. Yeah. Seven. I’ll pick you up.”

“I’ll look my worst.”

“That won’t take much,” Ronan grinned, before throwing the car door open and plunging into the rainy streets of Henrietta. He didn’t want to sit in the lie a second longer.

*

Blue punched Gansey in the arm and hated Ronan for being right. 

“Ow!” he yelled, rubbing at the sleeve of his polo. Helen smirked beside them. She seemed to like Blue and that made Gansey relieved and nervous at the same time. “What was that for?”

“This!” Blue hissed, gesturing at the house (if it could be called that) in front of them. “I’m underdressed to even walk inside. No, I’m underdressed to even breathe this air. Gansey this is… so much and you lied oh my god you lied and I believed you why did I do that? You wouldn’t know the value of money if it kissed you on the mouth.”

Gansey’s face turned red at her words or perhaps her particular choice of words and Helen broke out into a soft, haughty laugh that almost sounded trained and practiced to Blue.

“You know she’s got you pinned to a wall Dick,” Helen grinned wrapping her arm around her brother’s and nudging him towards the house or mansion or castle. “You should sleep with two eyes open.”

“I always do,” Gansey took a final gulp of the air before they entered the house. 

“Behave,” he whispered into Helen’s ear. “Sorry,” he whispered into Blue’s.

“It’s fine,” she whispered back, “I mean I guess you didn’t really lie.”

“No I mean, I’m sorry about what will likely happen when you meet my parents tomorrow. I hope you don’t view them as a reflection of me Jane,” she turned to look up at him then and he looked so nervous, it was unsettling. Selfishly, she hoped he was calm before the Gansey in an Aglionby sweater spattered in rain became her Gansey. She didn’t want to remember him like this, afraid. She didn’t want to remember him as anything less than a king.

*

“I miss pizza,” Noah sighed into the palms of his hands as Adam sipped his water slowly and Ronan shoveled a slice of pepperoni into his mouth. “My first kiss tasted like pizza. Hawaiian pizza.”

“Gross,” Ronan muttered around his bite of pizza. 

“And I tasted like coca cola, I think. I mean,” he looked down fondly, “he said I did.”

Ronan quirked an eyebrow for a moment, a short, finite moment, before he swallowed his last bite of pizza and said, “You’d make a fucking combo meal. A pizza and a coke.” his glance flitted to Adam who snorted as he swallowed a piece of cheese. 

Adam opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a shrill yell from over his shoulder. “There they are!” the three boys turned their heads to see Calla and Orla charging towards the table.

“What the hell?” Ronan muttered, particularly annoyed to have a night that he had finally gotten Adam away from his homework interrupted by Glendower business or whatever the hell this was. “Maggot’s in D.C you know.”

“Of course we know,” Calla snapped, shooing Ronan over. He raised an eyebrow at her, glaring. Calla raised one back. He scooted over.

“I can’t believe Blue got a rich boyfriend before me,” Orla sighed, sliding into the booth beside Adam and shooting him a sly grin. “It’s a waste really. She’s too ‘good’” she waved air quotes at the table, “to take advantage of it.”

“What the hell do you want?” Ronan grumbled, turning his head to shoot daggers at Calla.

“A good pair of heels,” Orla replied. “Nice car. An apartment in a city not a town. A vibrator that lasts. A boyfriend with strong hands,” she winked at Adam and Ronan would deny it any day but he almost growled.

“What. Do. You. Want?”

“Relax Snake,” Calla waved the waiter over for a glass of water. “We’ll leave you to your date soon. We just needed to tell ghost boy,” she pointed a sharp nail at Noah’s now flickering form, “That if he’s still considering going through with tomorrow, which he is… he shouldn’t.”

“Tomorrow?” Adam looked between Noah and Calla. “What’s tomorrow?”

“What the hell are you planning Czerny?” it took a tuned ear to notice that Ronan’s tone had shifted from angry to concerned. To the outsider it sounded like another degree of angry but to Adam, it was more. Right now, he was too wrapped up in his own concern to do more than take note of it. Later, he would turn the sound over in his head when he shifted between awake and asleep over and over again and he’d wonder.

“I…” Noah looked down shyly, sadly, like he too often did. “I just miss Christmas eve eve. I just miss my puppy.”

“Haunting people you knew when you were alive is never a good idea.” Calla shook her head.

“I don’t want to haunt them, I just want to see-” 

“You want to see how tall your sisters have gotten and you want to see how big your dad’s golf club collection has gotten and you want to see if your mom still rides horses and you want to see your dog and your cat and when you see a little, you’ll want to see more. You’ll want to see your old room and you’ll want to stay there and you’ll get sick with nostalgia and you’ll try to be seen because you’ll think, these teenaged boys and a psychic’s daughter see me and love me why can’t they? So you’ll try to be seen and you’ll either fail and won’t ever be able to stop moping about it or worse, you’ll succeed and your family will be ridden with old feelings they’re trying to tuck away or maybe, more likely, they’ll just think the old grief is coming back and rotting their minds-”

“Stop,” Noah looked near tears. “Stop, please.” he choked out. “Please.”

A silence fell over the table. Calla let out a sigh. “The average person fears the paranormal ghost boy. Your raven boys and Blue just aren’t normal. Don’t go convincing yourself that your family will take you in like they did, not when they’ve spent so long getting over you.”

“What if we went?” Ronan asked, slowly.

“What’s that snake?” Calla snarled.

“What if me and Adam went and… distracted them. They probably wouldn’t even notice Noah, if we distracted them.”

“Distract them?” Calla narrowed her eyebrows. “How?”

“They could just… knock on the door and start making out,” Orla grinned cheekily and Ronan’s ears went noticeably red.

“We could pretend to be Christmas carollers, from Saint Agnes. No one sends away church carollers.” Adam spoke up, looking between Ronan and Noah. 

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Ronan let out a laugh. 

Adam shrugged. “I’ve heard you sing your death metal squash song. You have a good voice. We can get Blue and Gansey to come back early enough to join us. Anyways it’s for Noah, yeah?” he looked at Calla for her approval and she tapped her chin, let out a sigh.

“Yes, I suppose that would be fine. But you better remain as invisible as possible, you understand me?” Calla narrowed her eyes at Noah, who was nodding quickly, before sliding out of the booth. 

“And if you mess up,” Orla said, pulling herself to her feet, beside Calla, “tell them they can talk to the spirits at 300 Fox Way.”

“Orla!”

“What? I’m saving up for those heels.”

They turned to leave then and Adam let out a laugh of disbelief and gave Ronan a look that said _how the hell did we get so wrapped up with Welsh kings and fucking psychics_ or _I knew you cared that much about Noah_ , about all of us or _I want to kiss you asleep at night and awake in the morning_. It was hard to tell with Adam. It could have been all three. 

“What about the dinner?” Noah asked then, timidly. Ronan broke his gaze from Adam’s neck and turned to Noah, who was now fading in and out. “Isn’t that on the 23rd?”

“After,” Ronan replied nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t already considered that. “I’ll want an excuse to get the fuck away from Declan anyways.”

“A Lynch and Czerny family reunion,” Noah flashed him a grin. “It’s going to be quite a night,” he added with a wink just before fading from the sauce splattered booth completely.

*

Gansey’s mansion bedroom was somehow fuller than his room at Monmouth. Maybe that was because it was much larger but whatever the reason, Blue was surprised to not find a pristine palace but instead piles of books and articles on Glendower and magic and Henrietta. So many on Henrietta, police reports and weather reports and obituaries. On further reflection, Blue realized she shouldn’t have expected anything less although she knew exactly why she had.

“He won’t let me keep them at Monmouth,” Gansey said softly from behind her. He spoke quietly but she still jumped, shocked out of her own head. “Ronan,” he explained as she turned around and followed his gaze to an array of childhood photographs scattered amongst newspaper clippings dating back from the beginning of Henrietta. “If he sees them he destroys them. He’s gotten so good at destroying.”

“Is this him?” Blue pointed to a picture of two young boys at what she thought to be The Barns. In the picture, they wore matching Santa hats and grins. Gansey looked less tired then, younger in so many ways. Ronan looked like a completely different person altogether, a mess of curls and molars Blue had never seen before. A boy she had never seen before.

Gansey nodded and rubbed the crease on his nose where his glasses fell. “I miss him,” he whispered. “Sometimes,” he paused then, looked at Blue with eyes that said I’m so unsure of everything but you, even though you’re what I should be the most unsure about. He continued before she could get lost in the thought. “Sometimes I just miss him because it was easier, before but mostly… I just miss him.”

“People change Gansey,” she replied, and looked at him with eyes that said I would burn the whole world down for you and I will even though it’s not going to save you. “and all change isn’t bad. He’s going to be okay. We all are,” _except you_. _Except me_. 

“Right now Jane,” he said so softly, pressing a hand to her chin, “I have never wanted to kiss you more than I do right now.”

Blue let out a laugh because she had never been in as much pain as she was right now and Gansey opened his mouth to ask what was funny or to ask what the kissing rules really were or to ask if there was a chance that Adam was her true love and he could kiss her right then, right there when the door opened and Helen wandered in. 

“Oh,” she said, in surprise that was clearly forced. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” Gansey pulled his hand away slowly. “Of course not.”

“I just wanted to tell you that most of the guest rooms are filling up so it’d probably be best if Blue just shared with you yeah?” Helen shot her brother a wink and he rubbed the back of his neck, face turning red. “Just to save space, of course.”

“I… yes.” he coughed, clearly working to compose himself. “Of course.”

“Just keep things down kids. There’s a French diplomat across the hall,” With that, Helen Gansey let the door swing shut behind her, the sound of her footsteps echoing behind her. 

“I’m sorry,” Gansey turned to Blue slowly. “Helen likes playing matchmaker. She should stick to chess. I’ll take the floor, you know to be a gentleman. Unless that goes against your whole feminism thing in which case…”

Blue grabbed a pillow and hit him on the arm. “This bed is big enough for an army,” she replied and began to slide the zipper of her jeans down as she spoke. “And you could stand to learn a lot from that feminism thing.”

“Whoa,” Gansey looked away and looked back. “What are you-”

“I’m putting on pajamas Gansey, relax,” he heard her rustling through her bag, “...pajamas that I forgot. Shit. This is your fault.”

“How is this my fault?!” Gansey scoffed, hand pressed to his eyes. 

“You made me pack fast so we could play scrabble before we left!”

“It’s a great game! And I had to break in my new board since Ronan broke the last one.”

“He’s surprisingly competitive.”

“You can wear my clothes.”

“What?” 

Gansey turned his head. Saw a flicker of yellow underwear. Turned back. “Uh… I uh…” Get it together Gansey. “You need clothes and I have clothes. It’s necessity not charity.”

He was still turned around but he could tell she was rolling her eyes. “I’m not wearing a polo to sleep.”

“I’m not either,” he walked over to his dresser and grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants, pulling off his khakis and orange polo shirt. Blue looked at the skin on his back. Looked away. 

He tossed her a second set of pajamas and turned back around as she changed. Gansey rubbed his neck and thought, how ridiculous it was, that he could search the world over for a Welsh king but was too afraid to completely glimpse Blue, with or without clothes. She was like the sun, he told himself. He just couldn’t look at her head-on but he couldn’t see without her.

“Wait,” Blue began to laugh and Gansey smiled to himself. “Did you… did you design this shirt?”

“What?” Gansey turned around to see her in pink pajama pants that were two sizes too big and a white t-shirt with the word GLENDOWER printed across the front in black boldface font. “Oh that, no, Ronan gave it to me as a joke a few Christmases ago. Noah helped him make it, hence the spats of glitter. Sorry, I uh, I didn’t even know I still had that.”

“Stop apologizing for everything,” she whispered, sitting down and tucking the comforter up to her chin. “And take your glasses off and lay down. This bed feels like a cloud.”

“You’re a cloud Blue Sargent,” he grinned, pulling off his wireframes and laying down beside her. He felt drunk on her, her wearing his clothes, her laying in his old bed, his old room. He used to lay here drunk on the thought of ley lines and Welsh kings. He never thought he would be drinking in something present.

“You called me Blue,” she turned on her side and he was face to face with her and so close, she was so close. He could make out every eyelash and every strand of hair and her breath. He could practically feel her breathing.

“That is your name right? It’s not really purple or orange is it?”

“Shut up!” she said with a laugh and he laughed too. 

“Blue suits you,” he whispered. “It suits you just fine Jane.”

“Gansey suits you Dick,” she whispered back, eyes already closing. She fell asleep with her hand beside his, fingers nearly touching. She woke up with her arm around his shoulder.

* 

_the 23rd_

Ronan woke up with sweat on his forehead and a tie in his hand. It was the color of Gansey’s mint leaves or the trees in Cabeswater or the tiny flecks of green in the blue of Adam’s eyes. Mostly the third.

When he stumbled out of his room in Monmouth, Noah was leaning against the fridge, a grin on his face. “Big date tonight.” 

Ronan ignored him and pulled the fridge door open, pulling out a carton of orange juice and drinking from it. “Fuck off.” Noah reached forward and wiped a drop of orange juice from Ronan’s chin. Ronan halfheartedly hit his hand away.

“Just make sure you use protection.” Ronan rolled his eyes and turned on his heels, charging back towards his bedroom. He slammed the door in Noah’s face and began searching through his drawer for a half-clean t-shirt when Noah materialized beside him.

“Holy fuck stop doing that Czerny I swear to-” 

“So I had this friend, you know… before... who didn’t use protection.” Noah stood behind Ronan as he began to rifle through his clothes. “And he got syphilis. Or maybe it was chlamydia I’m not sure. What’s the difference, is there a difference? Anyways, that wasn’t even the worst part. All these rumors about him spiralled out of control and everyone said his… you know… was green! No one would go near him. I mean, I did, but I wasn’t really into him like that. Not because of the green thing! He was just really annoying.”

“I know the feeling.”

“You’re wearing that?”

Ronan’s head snapped up, eyes narrowing. “What?”

“It’s formal.”

“We dress up for Christmas. Don’t you give a fuck about Jesus?”

“If he was real wouldn’t I be in heaven?”

“No. You probably sinned. Too many green dicks.”

“Hey I said-”

“Is it too formal?” Ronan interrupted, hand wrapped around his suit jacket. He dropped his eyes to the floor, to the cluttered mess of dreamt rings and t-shirts and mirrors and playing cards and rubber ducks and soy sauce packets and needles and threads and flowers and dress shoes and ties.

Noah grinned. “You gotta impress Jesus right?”

“Right.”

“I’ll go let Jesus know tonight is semi-formal.”

“Fuck off.”

*

“And it’s probably best if you don’t bring up politics, you and mom would probably butt heads. Perhaps boats would be a good topic, dad owns six and you’ve been on one.” Gansey whispered, the sleeve of his suit jacket, expensive enough to pay for his college tuition, brushing lightly against Blue’s bare arm.

“Sometimes I wish I could kiss you just to shut you up,” she whispered, walking briskly towards the dining room beside him. Her dress was red and long and Gansey had said she looked exquisite and she had pretended she didn’t care.

“Right sorry.” he held open the door to the dining room and she walked in with a roll of her eyes. “It’s fine you’ll be fine- hi Mom.”

“Richard dear,” she grinned, rushing towards him and planting an air kiss on his left cheek. “You’re late.” she greeted him through her teeth.

“I apologize, we went for a walk and lost track of time.”

He heard Helen snort into her mimosa behind his mother and he resisted the urge to explain that he wasn’t lying, that he was showing Blue the grounds and she was rolling her eyes at all his money and status one second and the next, she was telling him about Christmas at Fox Way and he was desperately wanting to be a part of it. 

“We?” Mrs. Gansey raised an eyebrow. “Oh is that boy here, the scholarship one? How’s he enjoying the car?”

“No mom, Adam’s spending the holidays with Ronan’s family.”

“Oh how lovely. It’s important to have somewhere to be on Christmas you know, I only wish we could be with you on Christmas this year but your father just needs this time to meet with investors. You understand right dear?”

“Of course.” 

“And next year we’ll all be together on Christmas morning, I promise.”

Blue coughed into her elbow and Gansey turned around, eyes wrinkling in concern.

“Are you alright Jane?”

“Fine.”

“Oh, who’s this Richard? I’m sorry you’re so small I didn’t see you there. Jane was it? Are you Imogene’s daughter?” Mrs. Gansey gestured lazily to the only other black woman in the room. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“No mom, this is Blue Sargent. I informed you I was bringing her at Thanksgiving.”

“Oh. Oh. You’re the girl, yes, Helen told us about you. I just didn’t expect you to be so…”

“Mother.”

“Small, like I said. Come on, take a seat dear. What are you standing around for?” Mrs. Gansey gestured to the table that was overcrowded with guests made of designer clothing and money. “Everyone, this is my son Richard and…”

“Blue,” Gansey filled in, pulling Blue’s chair out for her. He squeezed the ends of her fingers as a silent prayer. She squeezed back, hard, which he assumed to be more out of annoyance at his chivalry than reassurance. “Blue Sargent.”

“Oh,” one woman with a brooch the size of her lips piped up. “As in Sargent industries?”

“Nope,” Blue grabbed for the croissant in the middle of her plate. “Just Sargent as in… Sargent.” 

“Oh,” the woman’s fake smile almost faltered. “And Bridget was it?”

“Blue,” she hummed. “It’s Blue.” 

“Like the ocean,” Gansey grinned at her, nudging her with his foot beneath the table.

“Oh Richard you’re just as charming as I remember,” a woman across from Blue grinned through pearl teeth. “I’m sure you don’t remember me.”

“Mrs. Courtmyer of course I do. How could I forget?” All the women grinned and Blue watched how their eyes levitated towards him just like they did in Monmouth and at Aglionby and everywhere else he went. He seemed to rule every land he stepped foot in.

“So, Blue,” her name was spat through a false warm smile. “What do your parents do for a living?”

“My mom’s a psychic.”

The table laughed, briefly, charmingly, haughtily. Gansey braced the edge of the table, knuckles turning white.

“All my relatives are too,” Blue continued, spinning a glare around the table. “It’s a family business.”

“Oh,” Mrs. Gansey spoke up, sipping a mimosa slowly. “How… interesting.”

“The science of psychic phenomena really is quite riveting,” Gansey cleared his throat, eyeing Blue before scanning his gaze around the table. “There’s definitely a great deal of validity behind it. It may be portrayed as a sort of mystical magic, but really when you get down to it it’s nothing more than a science. A science that’s really taking over in the field of psychology.”

“I did hear that from a friend of mine, he’s a professor at Harvard, I think one of his students is writing a thesis on psychics.” a woman piped up quickly. “or maybe it’s psychiatry. Whatever the matter,” she waved her hand quickly. “You are so knowledgeable about everything Richard. My daughters are going to be disappointed you’re off the market.”

“Oh...I...we…” Blue had never seen Gansey so flustered, so public.

Blue swallowed and grabbed his hand, above the table. “Tell them I’m sorry,” she grinned and Gansey grinned back.

*

Adam Parrish looked like he had all the magic of Cabeswater wrapped up in his cheekbones alone and Ronan Lynch had never been more afraid. His heart pounded like he had just street raced or ran from a night terror or dreamt a wasp. He wore a suit and scuffed dress shoes and a shy smile.

“You clean up alright Parrish,” Ronan leaned forward and straightened Adam’s black tie, slowly, hands sweating. The one he had dreamt was wrapped up in his pocket and he was still working up the courage to give it to him. It wasn’t charity, he wanted to say. He was the one who would benefit most from seeing it wrapped around his neck.

“You too Lynch,” Adam grinned, grabbing a bag from beside the front door and locking it shut behind him.

“What’s in the bag?” Ronan asked with a nod when they reached the car. He wasn’t sure he could have gone another minute without asking.

“Uh flowers.”

“Oh,” Ronan felt his cheeks turn warm.

“For Declan,” he finished quickly.

“You’re supposed to be my pretend boyfriend not his,” Ronan said, trying not to stumble over the word _boyfriend_. 

“He’s hosting us. It’s customary. I can’t pay him back for the cost of the meal but I can give him this.”

“He’s hosting us in an Aglionby dining hall, he didn’t do shit.” 

“It’s still custom,” Adam shrugged. “Anyways, Matthew will appreciate it.”

The flowers were orange and pink and Ronan wondered how much he had spent on them and Matthew loved them like he loved everything. “These are amazing, thank you Adam! I’m really glad you’re here.” Matthew grinned into the flowers, “Declan and Olive are inside.”

“See,” Adam whispered as they walked past Matthew into the dining hall. “Flowers. They’re custom.” 

“We should hold hands,” Ronan blurted out. “To make this believable.”

“Right,” Adam replied. “Believable,” he said, grabbing Ronan’s hand with his. Ronan felt his heart beat faster and a bead of sweat break out from his forehead and they were so calloused and warm and Ronan wondered how he could ever think he could pull this off.

Declan had his head bent over a glass of champagne and was laughing at something that the red head beside him had whispered into his ear. He looked up and raised an eyebrow at Ronan and Adam’s interlocked hands before moving his gaze upward.

“Ronan,” Declan said, evenly and then, more surprised. “and Adam Parrish.”

“Hi,” Adam waved with his hand that was currently attached to Ronan’s. 

“Uh, Ronan, Adam, this is Olive. Olive, this is my brother Ronan and his…”

“Boyfriend.” Ronan interrupted, eyes narrowed. Olive blinked and then grew round eyes.

“Oh. Ohh okay, I totally get it,” she replied, nodding rapidly. “My third cousin’s gay he’s like always talking about his boyfriend. It’s actually kind of annoying- because he won’t shut up, not because he’s gay! I’m totally fine with that, I made out with a girl at a party one time.”

“Wow she’s a keeper,” Ronan flashed a grin at Declan. 

“Hey-”

“When’s dinner?” Adam interrupted with a cough. “We should sit down. I’m hungry.”

Ronan grinned at Declan with pointed teeth. “Me too.” 

*

The reception following the Christmas brunch was more elaborate than the brunch itself. Mr. Gansey and his friends had returned from a game of golf and he had brought a fleet of business partners with them.

Richard Gansey II had all the charm of his son and more. Blue wasn’t sure if she had ever seen a smile brighter or more artificial in her life.

“Dick!” he clapped a hand on Gansey’s shoulder an hour and a half into the reception, after an almost adequate amount of mingling. “It’s amazing to see you! And with a girl, no less. I can’t believe it.”

“Yes dad, this is Blue Sargent, Blue Sargent this is Mr. Gansey.”

They talked about boats, like Gansey had suggested. They talked about Henrietta. They talked about Mrs. Gansey’s race and Adam. They talked about college and Richard II had trouble understanding that Blue would be attending community college next year and Richard III steered the conversation to boats until Mr. Gansey left to mingle with other guests.

“That didn’t go bad,” Gansey whispered with a grin.

“Why did you think it would?” Blue replied with a bigger grin.

“We should-” she turned to point to the exit because after all the small talk she needed a break, a moment with just him, in a staircase with less noise and lights and glamor. She was met instead with the pearl teeth of Helen Gansey, spread wide, and a green plant dangling from her french manicured fingers.

“What?” Gansey turned too, looked between the party and Blue, Helen and Blue, the mistletoe and Blue. “Oh I- what is that?” 

“It’s mistletoe Dick,” Helen grinned wider. “You know, you see the plant, you see a girl, you kiss. I thought you were the smart one.”

Gansey heard a faint chorus of awws, older women gathering, grins on their faces, champagne glasses in hand. Gansey looked at Blue and Blue looked at Gansey and the various guests looked at both of them and Gansey looked at Blue more and he wondered. He wondered if the mistletoe caused the kiss if that was different, if this was an exception, if he could kiss her once, just once.

He cupped her chin with his hand. He watched her swallow and then their eyes met and she looked panicked and afraid and so much, there was so much in her eyes that made Gansey lean in, closer _closer_ , until there were a few tears in her eyes and she was gone.

*

“So Parrish,” Declan had a champagne glass in one hand and a rolex wrapped around the other. Ronan had noticed the way Adam’s eyes had drifted towards the gold of the watch as soon as they had sat down and Ronan had squeezed his hand beneath the table. Neither of them mentioned that holding hands under the table, even if just for a moment, didn’t do anything to piss Declan off.

“It’s Adam,” Ronan cut in, eyes narrowed.

“Right. I apologize,” Declan said, with eyes that said otherwise. “Adam. When did you and my brother start…”

“Fucking?” 

“Ronan, language” Declan scolded. Olive cackled. Matthew grinned. Adam’s ears turned bright red.

“We uh, met through Gansey awhile ago,” Adam answered quickly, “Gansey’s a friend of ours,” he explained to Olive. 

“I know that bit,” Declan waved a piece of ham on his fork absentmindedly. “I meant, how did you start dating? You seem serious you must have a story.”

Adam couldn’t tell if Declan didn’t believe they were dating or if he was genuinely interested. “Oh you don’t want to hear that,” he blushed, seeming just as bashful as he was afraid.

“Yes we do!” Matthew sputtered through a mouthful of sweet potatoes (a bite of the marshmallow and pecan kind). “Or I do! We all do!”

“It’s really not-”

“It was Thanksgiving.” Ronan said, eyes baring into Declan’s. “We ate a shitton of turkey and drank beer. After dinner, Gansey made us write down the one thing we were most thankful for, some bullshit to impress Blue or Noah I don’t know. He wouldn’t accept Chainsaw or… anything else as an answer. All that left was Adam.” 

“Aww.” Matthew grinned, widely. “How’d you do it how’d you ask him?” 

“He just kissed me that night, after dinner.” Adam interrupted, looking at Ronan from the corner of his eye even though Ronan was too afraid to look at him. “He was driving me home and at a red light, he kissed me and I kissed him back.”

Ronan felt his heart pounding in his entire body and he wondered if this was what Gansey would feel like when he found Glendower. It can’t, he thought to himself, feel any better or worse than this. 

“I’m happy for you,” Declan almost whispered. He said it so softly Adam wasn’t quite sure if he had said anything at all. Declan Lynch speaking both genuinely and kindly, especially to Ronan, was a rare and small occurrence. “Thanksgiving was dad’s favorite holiday, you know.”

Before Ronan could respond that he did, of course he did, in a tone that would probably end the one minute of peace between the two brothers, Matthew cut in “Well Christmas eve eve is mine!”

“Noah,” Adam whispered into Ronan’s ear, his breath so close he thought his body temperature may have just sky rocketed, “I can’t believe he made it a thing.”

“Fucking ghosts man.”

Adam grinned. “Fucking ghosts.”

*

“Blue!” Gansey didn’t catch up to her until they reached the back gardens across the house. “Christ you move quick for a girl of your size.” She ignored him, arms still wrapped tight around her body, and her lack of response to his insult concerned him more than anything else. “Look I’m sorry about Helen and everyone else, she didn’t know, they didn’t know-” 

“You were going to kiss me,” Blue whispered hoarsely.

“What?” Gansey moved forward, slowly, cautiously. 

She turned around and stared at him through a face streaked with tears. “You were going to kiss me, I could tell. You were going to.”

“No I wasn’t, I was just pretending-”

“Yes you were.”

“You’re not a psychic Jane.”

“I’m around them enough though,” she whispered, “I’ve seen enough predictions come true to know what’s going to happen and what’s not and you were going to kiss me.”

“Blue,” he whispered bringing a hand to her chin and rubbing a finger delicately across her lips, “Blue Sargent I don’t care-”

“Gansey, this is so much more than you,” she whispered. “You can’t leave Adam or Ronan or Noah or your family. You can’t leave Henrietta, you can’t leave me Gansey. Don’t you understand? If I killed you it would kill me, just knowing that I… could kill you is killing me.”

“Okay.” Gansey nodded, steadily lowering his hand, ever so slightly. “Okay. But we can’t just… we can’t just pretend this is nothing okay? It’s something.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“What the prophecy says,” Gansey whispered. “What else?”

Blue stared up at him and he pulled an embroidered handkerchief out that was tucked into his pocket and began to wipe away her tears. He thought, for the millionth time, that this would be the perfect moment for a first kiss or a second one or a three hundredth one. 

But this was enough, he told himself, whether it was true or not, as they sat in the back of Helen’s helicopter, heading back to Henrietta, hands clasped. This was enough. 

*

Ronan and Adam left with three containers of leftovers and extra candy canes from Matthew. “Come by for dinner again sometime,” Declan had whispered to Adam on the way out. “You’re good for him.”

After two hugs from Matthew each and three reminders to Ronan to make it to Christmas mass on time, they walked to the BMW, slowly, breathing in the winter air and each other’s company and everything else. 

When they got to the car, they sat in silence for a moment, each waiting for the other to do something, anything, everything. 

Ronan wondered if it was all in his head, again, again, again. Ronan wondered if Adam realized he was too good for him or if Adam realized what he was doing to him at all but then Adam looked at Ronan and Ronan looked back and suddenly he wasn’t thinking at all as he muttered, “Fuck it. I can’t wait for a stoplight.”

Adam tasted like turkey and apple cider. Ronan thought maybe he’d be able to taste sweet potatoes too if he kissed him long enough but after only a short moment, he pulled back, eyes and breath heavy. 

“Taking things slow Lynch?”

“We gotta get to Czerny’s,” Ronan shrugged, like everything was casual and like this was any other day and not the first day he kissed Adam Parrish. “We’ve got time. I’ll dream you a clock. Speaking of.” he pulled the tie out of his pocket and threw it on Adam’s lap.

“What’s this?”

“It’s nothing. I dreamed it. It’ll help you look like a caroller. We gotta pull this off Parrish.”

Adam grinned as Ronan pulled his tie off his neck and replaced it with the dream one. “Who the hell are you Ronan Lynch?”

“Fuck if I know.”  
* 

“How was your afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Reagan?” Ronan greeted Blue outside of the Czerny house, which was done up with rainbow Christmas lights, an inflatable Santa and reindeer, and a flurry of other decorations.

“How was your evening of meet the parents?” Blue countered, eyebrows raised.

“He had a good night,” Noah materialized between the two, hands stuffed in his pockets. 

“You want me to sing for you or not?” Ronan shoved him into Blue who gathered him up in her arms and held him tight, hair tucked under his chin. He looked more afraid and more brave than he ever had before.

“It’s going to be fine Noah,” Blue whispered. “Just stay with me okay? Stay with us.” He nodded silently and together they led him to the door. Blue hid behind Adam with Noah, in case they recognized her from the funeral leaving Ronan, Adam, and Gansey to stand in front of the double doors of the Czerny household.

“You sure they’ll give a fuck about carollers?” Ronan whispered after Gansey knocked. “I’d slam the door in our faces.”

“They’ll listen,” Noah whispered. “Sing Rudolph. You have to sing Rudolph.”

“No fucking way am I singing-”

“Hello!” Gansey cleared his throat, gave Ronan a sideways glance.

The woman at the door looked so much like Noah that they were all more struck by how alive she was instead of how similar they looked. Her eyes were so green and full and she was so solid, so part of the suburban house. Gansey could have stood there and studied her face all day but was abruptly interrupted by yapping at his feet.

A dog that looked nothing more than a brown puffball with eyes ran out the front door and straight past Ronan and Blue to Noah. She began whimpering and licking Noah’s transparent ankles as Mrs. Czerny broke out into a laugh.

“I’m sorry, that’s Peanut Butter. She’s friendly but she hasn’t done anything like that in awhile… it must be the Christmas spirit,” she smiled softly and Adam wondered what it would be like to have a mom like her, to lose a mom like her. “What can I do for you boys?”

“We’re Christmas carolling!” Gansey beamed up at her. “Just a little something to give Henrietta some more holiday spirit. We’re affiliated with Saint Agnes church, just spreading their ideals and the true meaning of Christmas.”

“Oh, how lovely! I haven’t had carollers in so long I can’t believe this, hold on!” she turned around and called into the house for her daughters and soon two girls appeared, equally similar and different and much more solid but giving off the same warm feeling that Noah always filled a room with.

After a moment of silence, Ronan started them off on Rudolph. As they sang, Noah watched. He watched his friends sing and he watched his family smile and he watched his dog happily circle his feet. He watched his mother say, “That’s my favorite Christmas song, how lovely.” with an unsaid _it was my son’s too, before_. He wished he could tell her that it still was. 

After the song, she called Peanut Butter inside, who reluctantly padded away from Noah. His sisters returned to the inside of a house Noah would never see again. And his mother left them one last smile before proclaiming “I hope you have a wonderful Christmas eve eve.”

When she shut the door, his door, Noah began to cry. He wasn’t necessarily crying out of sadness or happiness, he was just so overcome by all of it, by his past and his present and the fake icicles dangling from the roof that he used to hang up every year with his father by his side.

“She remembered me,” Noah grinned. “Peanut Butter saw me and she remembered me!”

“Of course she did.” Ronan replied. “You’re the fucking bread.”

With that, they left the Czerny household, for what would be their last time. They walked back to their cars as one tangled unit: Adam with an arm draped over Ronan, Ronan with an arm draped over Noah, Noah with an arm draped over Blue, Blue with an arm draped over Gansey.

They were one single person, one single force. They were an army and a family. They were magic and they were real and alive as any person could be.

“This,” Noah said to the stars and Christmas lights of Henrietta, “is the best Christmas Eve Eve ever.”

Ronan exchanged a shy glance with Adam and Gansey held Blue a little closer. None of them could think of a way to disagree.

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading happy holidays kids!
> 
> follow me on gaysun 4 fun content also this is my mental image 4 peanut butter n jelly enjoy:
> 
> <http://gaysun.tumblr.com/post/135949305665/peanut-butter-th-dog-n-jelly-th-cat>


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